MBBS or MD

[whitneyzhao77]

Hi everyone, this is my first time posting threads, sorry if I pose it in the wrong place.

I am struggling in choosing between MBBS and MD. Not that I am accepted by both, in fact, I haven't even done my HSC yet. I think a lot of people will tell me to go for the one that accepts me, and apparently most people think MBBS is better than MD, since basically they are the same, while MBBS takes a shorter time to complete.

My concern is that, I am interested in a lot of fields and am not 100% if I do want to be a doctor for the rest of my life. I want to explore as many fields as possible in uni and I am afraid that doing MBBS won't give me enough time or freedom to do that since it is very much packed and intense. That is the main reason why I want to do a MD program.

However, I read some of the posts in the forum and found out that it takes a long time for a medical school student to finish his/her training, so I am wondering if I should do MBBS to shorten this long and exhausting process.

Any advice would be good, thanks in advance!

[Stick]

Please read this recent thread in particular: Undergad vs Grad Medicine?

I think you are really mature to allow yourself to consider both options here; most people who are absolutely sure about medicine will try to jump into the undergraduate pathway, perhaps without thinking what the graduate pathway would entail.

I don't think anyone can ever be 100% on medicine (or any career, really) straight out of Year 12 and if someone said that they were, they're either in a really special circumstance in order to make that call, or they're lying. In reality, we have a very little idea of what most careers actually entail. I chose my undergraduate degree based on the fact that it allows me to explore my academic interests more, putting aside a career for the minute.

Addressing your two concerns:

1. You'll be working for 40 or more years of your life - whether you study for five or seven years will mean very little in the long term. Many Monash MBBS students also take the optional research year during their degree, meaning that they're actually studying for six years before they graduate. I don't think that the time taken should deter you from either pathway.

2. Well, this is something more personal and you'll probably have to weigh it up for yourself. I'm in a position where I'll pretty much be alone nonetheless, so it wasn't a factor I had to include in my decision-making. I'd say that you'd definitely make new friends at university regardless, however.

Some extra insight:

The main reason for pursing undergraduate medicine is the security of knowing that you've already earned your place in a medical degree. We all know how competitive it is both at undergraduate and graduate level and so if you are 80% sure this is what you want to do and can manage to get a foot in the door, then go for it. I know that I definitely feel more comfortable with that sense of security. The graduate entry pathway is somewhat a risk which may not work out initially. This is something you'll need to be prepared for.

The main reason for pursuing graduate medicine is the ability to explore the area more and make a more informed decision prior to committing to medicine. You're not locked in, so you are able to ponder a variety of career paths and you may find something other than medicine that interests you more. That being said, if you're in the Monash MBBS degree and you change your mind, there's nothing stopping you from transferring. It's probably a little bit more messy that way though.

Anyway, I'm probably not in the best position to help you out but I hope this has been able to shed some light nonetheless. Good luck making your decision.

[pi]

If you're not yet in HSC, I'd advise you try and get a bit more exposure to the medical field and the other fields you are interested in. Things like work experience, shadowing, etc etc can be arranged.

As for MBBS vs MD, I doubt there will be too many MBBS programs when you're graduating HSC but my idea is that go into what you get into. Not a fan of "aiming for grad med" without aiming for undergrad med too, but that's just me (and I wasn't set on med, life is about taking chances and opportunities!). If you get into undergrad med and don't like it after a few years, you can transfer out (I know a couple of people who have) into any number of degrees. It's true that there isn't much time in an undergrad course to explore your other passions, but although I do miss things like maths etc, I really don't want to be spending time learning about stuff I'm not going to use so it works both ways.

gl!

[Shenz0r]

However, I read some of the posts in the forum and found out that it takes a long time for a medical school student to finish his/her training, so I am wondering if I should do MBBS to shorten this long and exhausting process.

Undergrad MBBS takes 5 years (at Monash) whereas MD at UoM takes 7 years (not sure about other grad schools though). Two years is not a very big difference in the grand scheme of things considering that training to be a consultant takes more than 10+ years.

The graduate pathway lets you experience university life a bit more, so you can spend afford to chillax a bit more when you start uni. But some people  also work their asses furiously from the very beginning to get an offer, and that can be very very draining as well.

IMO if you got a guaranteed MD offer, then I would take that over MBBS. You'd end up at the same place but you'll have more time to explore your interest and relax.